Kelin Xiaoman

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Special Operations Squad

At fourteen, Xiaoman joins a squad of three mages and four warriors assigned to clear a three-hundred-li stretch along the outskirts of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, protect the military camp, and watch for Shadow Alliance spies. She introduces herself cheerfully as an early-stage Fourth-Level Water Mage. While establishing their temporary camp, she accompanies Shiheng to buy food, cookware, healing potions, and other supplies 8 9.

Ten days of fighting weaker magical beasts develops the squad’s teamwork and mutual trust. Xiaoman serves as its healer during encounters with Bloodthirsty War Boars and Man Snakes. Around the campfire, she declines to explain her family circumstances, revealing only that she wants to escape an arranged marriage 10 11 12.

During the Red-Blue Bee battle, she suppresses her fear and continuously heals Hogg, Hillman, and Kelan Kai. Shiheng later shields her with his body and is seriously injured. After further training, she reaches the middle stage of the fourth level. Learning from the bee battle, she protects all three mages with Water Shields during the subsequent Wind Wolf campaign, allowing Shiheng greater freedom to fight 14 15 16.

Saving Shiheng

When a Swift Raptor attacks, Shiheng intercepts a potentially fatal tail strike aimed at Xiaoman. She exhausts her magic trying to heal him during the ensuing battle, but cannot keep pace with his injuries. After he pursues the beast into the mountain range’s middle reaches, she follows the battle trail alone and reaches him just in time to prevent him from falling over a cliff after his victory 18 20.

With Shiheng unconscious and night approaching, Xiaoman realizes that attempting the return journey would be fatal. She makes a rope from the Swift Raptor’s tendons, lowers them down the cliff, and excavates a concealed cave using Shiheng’s weapon. Despite exhaustion and injured hands, she also moves the carcass inside and conceals it with stones to prevent its bloody scent from attracting magical beasts 21.

Xiaoman repeatedly alternates meditation with healing through the night, refusing to rest until Shiheng’s external wounds improve. Over seven days, her continued treatment and the nutritious Swift Raptor meat help him recover. He then teaches her his newly developed Berserk Secret Method; remembering his sacrifice, she resolves to become someone capable of protecting others rather than only receiving protection 22 23.

After entering the warrior ranks, Xiaoman leaves the cave with Shiheng. Five Shadowfang Beasts ambush them, attracted by their remaining raptor meat. Although wounded during the fight, she uses Berserk Shadowless Slash to finish the remaining attackers, collects the five cores, and continues searching for their companions 24.

Departure and Reunion

Grand Duke Kelin summons Xiaoman before the military rewards are finalized. She receives special treatment and leaves camp early, without her destination being disclosed to the others 31.

Four years later, she travels from Feng Lai City in a carriage guarded by mercenaries. A Shadow Church force attacks the escort, and its Ninth-Rank leader drives the mercenaries away. Shiheng recognizes Xiaoman when her carriage is destroyed. She urges him to flee, unaware of his growth, before witnessing him annihilate the attackers and kill their leader 47 48.

In Yulan Calendar year 9966, Xiaoman explains that the Principality of Klan’s deteriorating war against the Shadow Alliance has forced her father to seek Feng Lai’s assistance. The kingdom has demanded that she marry its prince in exchange for troops, and she reports that her father has agreed under pressure. Shiheng rejects the bargain, promises to help her principality, and places her under his protection. They depart together on his Gale Horse, with their shared ride revealing growing romantic feelings 49 50.

After two days of travel, Xiaoman brings Shiheng into the ducal residence in Klan City and introduces him to her father. Her trust and admiration deepen as he calmly handles Grand Duke Kelin’s scrutiny. When she repeats Feng Lai’s marriage condition, her father reacts with anger 51 52 53.

Grand Duke Kelin offers Shiheng command of the Magic Crystal Vein defensive line and promises Xiaoman’s hand if he succeeds. Initially worried that Shiheng might already love someone else, she is reassured when he declares that he has no girlfriend and would marry her if she wished, explicitly placing her wishes first. After Shiheng departs for the front, news of his victory fills her with pride and longing 55.

Engagement and Marriage

While awaiting Shiheng’s return, Xiaoman treasures a Crystal Pendant made from a magic crystal he found for her. She warmly welcomes him back when Grand Duke Kelin recalls him to the capital. By the period preceding their formal betrothal, she is twenty-two and hopes for a recognized place beside him 64 65.

Their engagement is celebrated in a grand ceremony attended by monarchs, Saints, and representatives of the Radiant Church. They exchange rings and vows of devotion, formally becoming engaged. Grand Duke Kelin announces that Xiaoman will inherit his title upon their marriage and that the couple will govern the Principality of Klan together 67.

Xiaoman subsequently waits in the palace throughout Shiheng’s ten-year seclusion. On emerging, he thanks her and announces their wedding for three days later, inviting the continent to witness it. Following their grand wedding, the couple travels the Yulan Continent together 73 74.

Continental Travels and the Frost Dragon

During their married life, Xiaoman’s water magic rises to the seventh level under Shiheng’s guidance. Concerned that she remains mortal while he has reached the Saint realm, Shiheng takes her to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Three months of fighting low-level beasts improve her experience and magical control, but do not produce a significant breakthrough 74.

Shiheng then subdues a Saint Pinnacle Frost Dragon and offers it a Water Element Divine Spark in return for forming an Equal Contract with Xiaoman and helping her reach the Saint realm. With his assistance, the contract is established. The dragon’s ice-origin power begins nourishing her water magic in a stable, mutually reinforcing cycle 74 75.

Their travels include a visit to Wu Mountain Town, where Xiaoman shares in the happiness surrounding Hogg’s household. Later, they spend seven days exploring Feng Lai City before joining Captain Chen’s mercenary company on an escort mission for Prince Kete and the princess. Xiaoman readily befriends the mercenaries, sharing pastries and sweets in exchange for their food and stories 75 78.

The freedom of traveling with Shiheng fulfills her longstanding wish to escape royal restrictions and political maneuvering. She accompanies him through the O’Brien Empire, witnesses his encounters with Fa Si and Tulilei, and reaches the eighth level in water magic. In Windthunder City, she is present when Shiheng destroys the Blackwind Stronghold bandits and heals one of their victims. When he chooses the Yulan Empire as their next destination, she promises to remain by his side wherever his cultivation leads 84 85 86 87 89.

Ninth-Level Cultivation and the Journey Home

Xiaoman spends ten years cultivating in the Palace of God, receiving personal guidance from its God-level mage. She reaches the ninth level and stabilizes at its peak, but encounters a bottleneck before the Saint realm. She agrees to leave with Shiheng, hoping both to advance and to see her father again 97 98.

During six months of leisurely travel, her enjoyment of ordinary life restores her earlier vivacity and improves her state of mind. Her ninth-level bottleneck begins to loosen without deliberate attempts at a breakthrough 99.

While crossing the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts toward the Shadow Alliance, she repeatedly fights high-ranking beasts as Shiheng conceals his strength and protects her from the shadows. She holds a peak Ninth-Level Shadow Winged Dragon at bay with layered water barriers, although its speed prevents her from effectively targeting it. Shiheng’s pressure eventually frightens it away. He later destroys a Saint Pinnacle Golden Horned Dragon when it attacks her 100.

Xiaoman’s wish to see Shadow City’s blood-red twilight brings the couple to the city. When Shadow Church youths attempt to claim her for their leader, she moves closer to Shiheng and trusts him to handle them. During the subsequent confrontation with the True God of Shadow’s divine thought, Shiheng and the dormant Frost Dragon shield her from its God Domain. At Shiheng’s instruction, she awakens Frost through her Contract Mark, allowing the dragon to manifest and protect her 106 111.

After their travels, Xiaoman returns with Shiheng to his family in Hess City, respectfully caring for his parents during their stay. They then return to Klan City, where she stands guard outside his cultivation chamber during his five-year effort to consolidate and fuse his laws 117 118.

Saint Breakthrough and Imperial Rule

Shiheng later uses an extremely small, carefully diluted portion of the Soul Gold Bead’s power to refine Xiaoman’s spiritual foundation and clear her cultivation barriers. After ten days of treatment, she successfully becomes a Saint Magus. She spends a further year consolidating her cultivation, and her advancement greatly raises the Principality of Klan’s standing within the Light Alliance 128 129.

At the founding coronation of the Klan Empire, Xiaoman ascends the throne as its first empress. By the time Shiheng emerges from a later seclusion, she has governed the empire for twenty years 129 131.

After their reunion, the couple decides to have a child. Shiheng offers her a complete water-element Lowgod divine core, explaining that refining it would grant immediate godhood but restrict her future development. Xiaoman refuses, choosing to pursue the god-level peak through her own talent and effort. He respects her choice and shares insights that clarify her path from the Saint realm through later divine cultivation. They spend the following year cultivating, discussing the Dao, and handling imperial affairs together before he senses her pregnancy 132.

To rest during her pregnancy, Xiaoman temporarily entrusts military, political, and administrative affairs to Grand Duke Kelin as regent. She subsequently gives birth safely to their son, Shi Hao. The family enjoys three peaceful years together before Shiheng prepares to enter the Tomb of the Gods 133 134 135.

Raising Shi Hao and Defending the Empire

During Shiheng’s seven-year absence in the Tomb of the Gods, Xiaoman governs the Klan Empire alone. Her methodical administration, strategic ability, and impartial laws maintain peace and prosperity. She also nurtures Shi Hao, comforting him when he discovers that he cannot practice magic and explaining that martial cultivation and magic ultimately converge on the path to godhood 171.

By the crisis preceding Adkins’s invasion, Xiaoman has secretly reached the Saint Apex. When four Midgods attack her, three protective Highgod attacks left by Shiheng kill three attackers and force the fourth to flee. With those defenses exhausted and Adkins preparing an invasion, Xiaoman asks Frost to find Shi Hao and protect him until he can reach Shiheng, offering to release the dragon from its contract. She refuses to abandon her father or subjects and vows to defend the capital to the end 179.

During the siege, two Saint Apex opponents attack her together atop the city tower. Shi Hao intervenes to hold off one, while Xiaoman uses her remaining Water Law power to shield and heal him through two hours of combat. When a killing blow hurls him into a crater and leaves him motionless, she abandons her defenses and burns her soul essence, blood essence, and cultivation reserves. Driven by the apparent loss of her son, she breaks through the Saint boundary and attains godhood 180 182.

After placing Shi Hao under layers of divine shielding, Xiaoman takes over Grand Duke Kelin’s battle against a veteran Lowgod. The calamity ultimately ends when Shi Hao becomes a god and defeats the invading Lowgods and Midgod, and Shiheng returns to kill Adkins. In the aftermath, Xiaoman reflects with gratitude that Shi Hao is her son and Shiheng her beloved 183 192.

Divine Cultivation and Later Life

After a separation of more than a decade, Xiaoman reunites with Shiheng in the palace. He gives her a necklace crafted from Ancient Divine Dragon sinew and a Water Spirit Crystal Core, a treasure he obtained in the Tomb of the Gods for her. The core immediately clarifies her perception of the Water Law, strengthens her foundation, and begins subtly transforming her constitution 160 206 207.

Recognizing Shi Hao’s maturity and the security provided by the Human Emperor Sword and Human Emperor Jade Seal, Xiaoman announces her intention to hold a ceremony transferring the throne to him. Having laid aside mundane affairs, she enters seclusion in Stillmoon Divine Palace to consolidate her Lowgod realm and cultivate the Water Element Great Way 208 210.

After fifty peaceful years, she has firmly reached the Midgod realm. Shi Hao transmits Heavenly Manifestation to both parents, and Xiaoman fully comprehends the secret art through its Dao seal. She watches with Shi Hao as Shiheng enters seclusion to perfect it before his planned departure for the Hell Plane 214.

By the later period of Shiheng’s activities across the realms, Xiaoman is described as having long since entered the Eternal God Realm and gained endless life. When Shiheng’s birth parents die peacefully of old age, she and Shi Hao mourn them in the imperial capital. Grand Duke Kelin consoles them by emphasizing the blessing of the elders’ long, peaceful lives 376.

Appearance

• Build: Petite and slender, initially appearing physically frail despite her resilience 22.
• Features: Fair skin, large bright eyes, long eyelashes, and dark hair 10 22 48 50.
• Clothing: Wears spotless white clothing at her reunion with Shiheng; an escort describes her white gown and angelic appearance 47 48.
• Berserk transformation: Her muscles swell, her face flushes crimson, her eyes gain a red glint, and she appears to grow half a head taller 24.
• Noble bearing: Her childhood education gives her graceful, proper conduct, while her water magic lends her a cool, gentle radiance 51.
• Engagement attire: Wears a scarlet phoenix-patterned ceremonial gown studded with Light Magic Crystals, with her black hair pinned up and decorated with fine pearls 67.
• Later traveling attire: Appears in a pale-blue, flowing-cloud gown after her cultivation in the Divine Palace 98.
• Imperial attire: Wears a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes at her coronation, and golden-patterned phoenix robes as reigning empress 129 179.
• Divine transformation: The Water Spirit Crystal Core gives her a clearer, more ethereal presence. Upon reaching Midgod, her Divine Soul, body, and bearing are comprehensively transformed, and Human Dao Divine Might naturally accompanies her appearance 207 214.

Personality

Xiaoman is lively and playful when first introduced, but her strongest personal wish is independence: she does not want her family to determine her marriage or bind her for life. Her teasing returns even after the distress of the Feng Lai negotiations, when she asks whether Shiheng’s concern means he likes her 8 12 49.

Her courage is expressed through persistence rather than an absence of fear. She continues healing during the bee swarm despite panic, follows Shiheng alone through dangerous territory, and forces herself to build shelter when nearly exhausted. Her determination to protect him becomes the emotional foundation of her berserk training 14 20 21 23.

Her royal education produces poise without preventing warmth toward others. She befriends mercenaries through shared stories and food, enjoys local delicacies and small market trinkets, and finds deep happiness in traveling free of political expectations. Witnessing the struggles of ordinary people evokes sincere empathy rather than contempt 51 78 84 99 103.

Xiaoman is steadfastly devoted to Shiheng, waiting through lengthy periods of seclusion and caring attentively for his parents without displaying a princess’s entitlement. Her devotion does not erase her independence: as an empress and cultivator, she rejects an easy route to godhood because she wants to reach the summit through her own effort 73 118 132.

As a ruler, she is steady, strategically capable, and committed to strict, impartial governance. Her sense of responsibility becomes especially visible during the threat to the capital, when she places the realm and its people alongside her own life and refuses to flee. As a mother, she is affectionate and encouraging, but the apparent death of Shi Hao drives her to a desperate, self-consuming breakthrough 171 179 182.

Abilities & Skills

Water-Element Healing Magic

Xiaoman’s principal battlefield role is treating injured companions 10 11.

• Stabilizes wounds and eases severe pain, allowing frontline fighters to remain in combat 14.
• Can treat her own injuries, including the damage to her hands from excavating the cave 21.
• Repeated casting significantly improves Shiheng’s external wounds, but cannot quickly repair his deeper internal damage 22.
• Her fourth-level healing can only slow the deterioration caused by the Swift Raptor’s attacks; it cannot overcome wounds of that severity during ongoing combat 18.
• At the Saint Apex, uses her remaining Water Law power to shield and heal Shi Hao while he withstands a powerful Saint’s attacks for two hours 182.

Water Shield

A fourth-level defensive spell used to protect the squad’s mages 16.

• Casts a shield on herself and each Nalan sister during the Wind Wolf battle.
• Fourth-level magical beasts cannot quickly break through it, reducing the need for constant close protection 16.
• By the ninth-level peak, can form overlapping water curtains into a thick, resilient barrier and continually adjust it against attacks from multiple directions. This defense withstands a peak Ninth-Level Shadow Winged Dragon’s dark magic and claw attacks, although she cannot reliably target the dragon’s rapid movements 100.
• After attaining godhood, condenses divine power into layered shields to protect the injured Shi Hao from fighting and shock waves 183.

Berserk Secret Method

Shiheng teaches Xiaoman a method that uses extreme emotion to stimulate the body and sharply increase strength and speed. Her breakthrough comes from her desire to protect someone important to her 23.

• Raises her combat strength from a mid-stage First-Level Warrior to approximately the early third level 24.
• Can be activated at will after she masters the method 24.
• Has a short effective duration: a roughly quarter-hour burst nearly exhausts her battle qi 24.
• Does not make her invulnerable; a Shadowfang Beast’s blow still seriously wounds her while transformed 24.
• Its proportional benefit is greatest for low-level warriors and diminishes as the practitioner’s level rises 24.

Berserk Shadowless Slash

A rapid sword technique performed during her first battle after mastering berserk 24.

• Turns her movement into a crimson blur and sweeps the blade across the remaining Shadowfang Beasts’ throats.
• Used to end the fight quickly before her berserk strength runs out 24.

Survival and Improvisation

• Constructs a weight-bearing rope from Swift Raptor tendons 21.
• Excavates a hidden cliffside cave with Shiheng’s weapon 21.
• Conceals the raptor’s corpse to reduce the risk of attracting nearby or flying magical beasts 21.

Water Law and Divine Cultivation

Xiaoman develops from a water-element mage into a Saint Magus and then a deity through continued cultivation, instruction, and practical combat. Shiheng’s guidance and the Palace of God’s instruction refine her understanding, while his later Dao insights clarify her route to godhood and beyond 87 97 128 132.

• Reaches godhood through her own breakthrough rather than refining an external divine core 132 182.
• Can deploy divine shields and engage a veteran Lowgod immediately after ascending 183.
• Uses the Water Spirit Crystal Core to clarify her perception of the Water Law and strengthen her Great Way foundation. Its continuing nourishment is described as supporting advancement toward Midgod, Highgod, and higher realms 206.
• Cultivates with the support of the Human Race’s faith and rare treasures, firmly reaching Midgod after fifty years 210 214.
• Eventually possesses an endless lifespan and transcends time in the Eternal God Realm 376.

Equal Contract and Frost Summoning

Xiaoman forms an Equal Contract with the Saint Pinnacle Frost Dragon through Shiheng’s intervention. Their minds become closely linked, and the dragon’s ice-origin power merges with her water magic in a stable symbiotic cycle 74 75.

• Frost serves as her protector and cultivation assistant, later becoming a Lowgod after receiving a divine core from Shiheng 74 135 179.
• The dragon can remain dormant in a Contract Mark at her waist 111.
• She awakens it through contract seals, an incantation, and an expenditure of magical power. During the Shadow City crisis, Frost manifests a Cold Qi Domain within the opposing God Domain and protects her 111.
• Protection is not unlimited: before its manifestation, the Saint Pinnacle dragon cannot independently break free under the True God of Shadow’s God Domain and initially can only release a limited protective aura 111.

Heavenly Manifestation

A supreme secret art of the Human Emperor Dao Lineage transmitted to Xiaoman and Shiheng by Shi Hao through Dao seals 214.

• Draws upon the momentum of heaven and earth to form a supreme manifestation 214.
• Increases base fighting strength tenfold without raising the user’s cultivation realm or cultivating additional Divine Power 214.
• Xiaoman fully comprehends the art when its Dao seal enters her sea of consciousness 214.

Governance and Leadership

• Governs the Klan Empire for twenty years after its founding, maintaining the authority and responsibilities of its imperial throne 129 131 133.
• Selects Grand Duke Kelin as regent during her pregnancy, entrusting him with military affairs, appointments, public welfare, and political administration 133.
• Maintains peace, order, and prosperity during Shiheng’s seven-year absence through methodical administration and strict, impartial laws 171.
• Remains at the capital during the threat of invasion and vows to defend the nation alongside its people 179.
• Recognizes Shi Hao’s readiness to rule and arranges to transfer imperial authority to him once the empire’s foundations are secure 208.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Swift Raptor horn short sword — Made by Shiheng after Xiaoman becomes a warrior; used against the Shadowfang Beasts and for Berserk Shadowless Slash 24.
• Swift Raptor tendon rope — Improvised to descend the cliff with the unconscious Shiheng 21.
• Swift Raptor meat — Supports her physical cultivation and Shiheng’s recovery; the remaining supply is carried out in the beast’s tough, waterproof hide 23 24.
• Crystal Pendant — Made from a magic crystal Shiheng found for her before leaving the principality; she holds it while awaiting his return 64.
• Engagement ring — Exchanged with Shiheng during their formal engagement ceremony 67.
• Frost Dragon Contract Mark — Located at her waist; houses the dormant Frost Dragon and serves as the focus for summoning it 111.
• Water-element Lowgod divine core, declined — Offered by Shiheng as a shortcut to godhood. Xiaoman refuses it because she does not want its restrictions on her future cultivation 132.
• Three protective Highgod attacks — Left by Shiheng for her defense. They kill three attacking Midgods and drive away a fourth, but are exhausted before Adkins’s invasion 179.
• Water Spirit Crystal Core necklace — Crafted by Shiheng from Ancient Divine Dragon sinew and the Water Spirit Crystal Core obtained in the Tomb of the Gods. The core contains the source of the Water Element Great Way, strengthens her cultivation foundation, improves her comprehension, and gradually refines her constitution 160 206 207.
• Stillmoon Divine Palace — Imperial cultivation retreat where she seals herself away behind protective formations to consolidate her Lowgod realm 210.

Relationships

• Kelin Shiheng — Teammate, rescuer, teacher of the Berserk Secret Method, and eventual husband. Xiaoman saves his life in return and nurses him through his recovery. Their reunion develops into mutual romantic attraction, although he initially calls her a friend. He later openly states his willingness to marry her while placing her wishes first. They become formally engaged, marry after his ten-year seclusion, travel together, and have their son Shi Hao. Shiheng repeatedly supports her cultivation while respecting her refusal to refine a divine core 18 20 22 23 49 50 55 67 73 74 132 134.
• Grand Duke Kelin — Her father, initially a peak Ninth-Rank Warrior. He summons her away from camp, and she later reports that he agreed to Feng Lai’s marriage condition under the principality’s military pressure. On her return, he reacts angrily to the demand and subsequently approves Shiheng as her prospective husband. He names her his successor, serves as regent during her pregnancy, and later joins her in refusing to abandon the capital during its crisis. Shiheng provides him with a Lowgod divine core to strengthen the family’s defenses 31 48 49 53 55 67 133 135 179.
• Shi Hao — Her only son with Shiheng and the Klan Empire’s heir apparent. Xiaoman raises and encourages him, particularly when his inability to practice magic initially discourages him. His apparent death while defending her triggers her breakthrough to godhood. She later arranges for him to inherit the throne, and he teaches her Heavenly Manifestation after becoming the Human Emperor 134 171 182 208 214.
• Frost, the Frost Dragon — Her Contracted Magical Beast, originally a Saint Pinnacle dragon. Their Equal Contract links their minds and allows its ice-origin power to nourish her water magic. Frost protects her during the Shadow City crisis and later serves as a Lowgod defender of the empire. Facing Adkins’s invasion, Xiaoman offers to release it from the contract so it can protect Shi Hao and guide him to Shiheng 74 75 111 179.
• Shiheng’s parents — Her parents-in-law. She cares for them with respect and filial devotion during the couple’s stay in Hess City. She later mourns their deaths alongside Shi Hao 118 376.
• Hogg, Hillman, and Kelan Kai — Warrior teammates whom she supports with healing, notably during the Red-Blue Bee battle. Her connection with Hogg continues into married life, when she shares in the happiness surrounding his household in Wu Mountain Town 14 75.
• Nalan Ruoshui and Nalan Jingyu — Fellow squad mages; Xiaoman shields both sisters during the Wind Wolf campaign 11 16.
• Feng Lai Prince — The intended husband demanded by Feng Lai as the price of military support. Xiaoman is distressed by the arrangement, which does not result in a marriage; she instead marries Shiheng 49 73 74.
• Captain Chen and his mercenaries — Traveling companions during the escort toward Kete Kingdom. Xiaoman wins their friendship by listening to their stories and exchanging food and sweets with them 78.
• Palace of God’s God-level mage — Provides personal instruction during her ten-year stay, helping her advance into the ninth-level water-mage ranks 97.

Notable Quotes

“My only wish is not to have my family arrange my marriage, not to be bound for the rest of my life.” 12

“If you hadn't thrown yourself in front of me without a thought for anything else, I would have been the one struck by that velociraptor's deadly tail sweep. I would already be dead. I'm the one who should be thanking you.” 22

“You care so much about me. Do you like me? We're not even in a relationship.” 49

“I, Kelin Xiaoman, will marry no one but Shiheng in this life. I will stand by him in life and death and never betray him.” 67

“I will go with you. Wherever you go, whether you travel through the mortal world or seek the Dao in the God Domain, I will stay by your side all my life, never leaving or forsaking you.” 89

“I don't want to become a god quickly by refining a divine core. Power gained through that kind of shortcut isn't what I want. I want to rely on my own talent and effort, cultivate steadily one step at a time, and climb to the god-level peak through my own strength, step by step, to see for myself the world and its sights in that supreme realm.” 132

“I am the reigning empress of the Klan Empire. This realm rests upon my shoulders, and its people live within my heart.” 179

“If the nation survives, I survive. If the nation falls, I fall.” 179

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